ERP Methodologies in the Era of Agile and AI – Which One Takes the Lead?

With AI on the rise and business expectations accelerating, the age-old debate around ERP methodology has resurfaced. Should we go full Agile? Stick with traditional Waterfall? Trust in SAP Activate? Or build a custom hybrid that works in the real world?

Key Points:

• Waterfall still rules in heavily regulated, documentation-heavy environments—particularly in industries like healthcare and energy. In one project for a Pacific Northwest energy provider, the Waterfall model helped us meet compliance and audit requirements across departments. But it also made stakeholder updates feel painfully slow.

• Agile is flexible and user-focused, gaining traction in tech and fast-moving industries. However, in ERP environments where dependencies are tightly coupled, Agile often breaks down unless the organization is mature in both change management and sprint-based delivery. In a Salesforce + SAP integration for a retail chain, Agile sprints succeeded only after the client invested in full-time product ownership and backlog management.

• SAP Activate attempts to bring the best of both—structured phases with built-in room for iteration. I've seen it work well for global rollouts when accompanied by strong governance and project controls. At Honda America, Activate helped us align SAP SuccessFactors delivery across Japan, Canada, and the U.S.

• AI now introduces new complexities and accelerators like real-time status summarization, automated meeting notes, predictive risk modeling, and embedded training bots. We recently used a GPT-powered chatbot to assist internal stakeholders in navigating ERP training portals—cutting support requests by nearly 40%.

Conclusion: There is no one-size-fits-all methodology. The strongest delivery leaders are blending methods, adapting to stakeholder maturity, and layering in AI to reduce delays, accelerate communication, and build trust through transparency.

CTA: What methodology have you used for your ERP projects lately—and has AI made you rethink your approach?